Few Smart Buys for this Year

In this guest post Jennifer talks about a buying list that can be considered as investments, to the essence that these will make your life easier and make you spend less money on other things. As personal finance is very personal, I am OK with this list. This list might work for you, but definitely won’t work with all. Some of the items, like amazon prime membership which we don’t have and probably never have, did make in to this smart buying list. Enjoy the post!

Financial instability is something so many of us struggle with but are always looking to find answers to. Money saving is challenging for many due to the progressive tendencies of having to take money from saving accounts for emergencies and extra things that we may need.

It is imperative that we should pay for certain things in life, and a lot of these can’t be avoided. Bills are also a massive worry for so many people, we worked hard and have now found ways in which they can be reduced. As well as home improvement costs, there are many other ways that can save you hundreds of dollars this year, thus reducing your financial worries.

Certain investments that you make may come as surprise and seem like they are taking a huge bite from your finances, however, in the long term these things will certainly save you money.

Programmable Thermostat

This little device will ensure that you are keeping track of your energy consumption and it will automatically adjust the energy you are using in order to make sure that you are reducing the amount you use.

You can put this thermostat on a setting that will program your heat to be put on at certain times of the day. For example, if you are consistently at work during certain hours of the day, you can program the heat to be off whilst nobody is home.

You can essentially save up to 20% on your utility bills by using this handy technology, as long as you let it adjust your temperature at the right time. You can also help reduce your heat and cooling costs by finding thermal heat naturally – like adding more clothing.

Price Comparison Apps

As we have all established there is now an app for everything. You can now download an app to your mobile that will let you programme any prices you have seen for products, and it will compare this same product with other prices from other places. The outcome will show you the cheapest place to buy it, rather than you having to suffer the pain of spending more money!

It is also really impressive that there are now apps that will let you scan the bar code of a product and instantly do a price compare, making your life a lot easier.

Water Filter

Tap water is initially the cheaper way forward in keeping up with your water intake. As expected however, many people prefer the freshness of bottled water and even can spend a lot just on packs of bottled water.

On the other hand, you have the option of purchasing a cheap water filter that will take in your water and will filter it over a very short time.
Each gallon of tap water you use will only cost you about a penny, which obviously makes a drastic difference from the prices spent on bottled water.

Gifts

There are always certain months of the year that we all dread for being busy birthday or holiday months. Because of this, we can end up spending a lot of our money on gifts for people. To prevent spending so much money, you can find many ways of producing homemade gifts that can look just as good and be made with perfect quality resources.

It will also be more special and personal if you decide to make your own gifts as it shows how much thought you have put into them. You could even save money in gift buying buy creating a hamper made of cheaper items that will eventually look spectacular once you put them all together.

If you are looking to make something yourself, you will find some brilliant tutorial videos on places such as YouTube, so you won’t find yourself confused and amiss as to which direction to go in.

Pay As You Go phone

Almost everyone these days has a mobile phone, and because of this there are plenty of different payment options that suit your needs. Depending how much you use your mobile, a contract could be good for you if you know how much you text, call and use the internet. If you find that you use these things a lot then you are better off paying for monthly contracts.

You will discover that contracts can be as low as $10 a month if you have an older phone and use less minutes and internet. It can be a lot easier however to stay on ‘pay as you go’ if you don’t use your phone regularly. Data costs for internet can be ridiculous, and if you already have WiFi connections set up at home, there is probably no point in having a data plan.

Buy a Bike

Obviously, travelling via bike or walking is always going to be the cheaper option that travelling by public transport or car. This is plainly because you do not have to pay any costs in petrol.

Buying a bike will always be a win-win situation, especially considering that you will be training your muscles and getting fresh air at the same time. A decent functioning bike can be really cheap, this is because there are hundreds of stores that offer bargains – online stores are also a lot cheaper!

Amazon Prime

Amazon is a brilliant online resource that sells goods of every sort. It can come in very useful for buying absolutely anything. A large number of us share the issue of needing things to be delivered as soon as possible, however, usually you are charged a high cost to get next day delivery.

For a small cost of $99 a year, you will be entitled to getting free one day delivery on a great selection of items. This works out cheaper than spending almost $5 for each delivery on average!

So, this year, definitely consider investing in these products that will save you money throughout the rest of the year. One of the main money saving tips would be to think carefully before you buy anything and answer one question – do you really need it?

Readers, can you think of any other essential buying for this year? Do let us know in the comments.

About the author: Jennifer Smith is a financial advisor and writes for Pareto Financial Planning.

SB’s opinion: To me anything can be considered a smart buy that can make you more efficient (including your morning coffee), more appealing (including your formal attire) or that can make you stop paying for other things. To some even buying mixer/grinder is a smart buy if they spend on fruit juices everyday.

Buying a 3 cell phone plan with unlimited internet access proved to be a great decision as I do access my mails and web wherever I go, so that I am in constant touch with this blog and related social media accounts. Choice is yours, what you think would be a smart buy for you.